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The Korean State and Social Policy: How South Korea Lifted Itself from Poverty and Dictatorship to Affluence and Democracy

Author

Listed:
  • Ringen, Stein

    (Social Science Division, University of Oxford)

  • Kwon, Huck-ju

    (Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University)

  • Yi, Ilcheong

    (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development)

  • Kim, Taekyoon

    (Waseda Institute for Advanced Study)

  • Lee, Jooha

    (Department of Public Administration, Dongguk University)

Abstract

There are two great mysteries in the political economy of South Korea. How could a destroyed country in next to no time become a sophisticated and affluent economy? And how could a ruthlessly authoritarian regime metamorphose with relative ease into a stable democratic polity? South Korea was long ruled with harsh authoritarianism, but, strangely, the authoritarian rulers made energetic use of social policy. The Korean State and Social Policy observes South Korean public policy from 1945 to 2000 through the prism of social policy to examine how the rulers operated and worked. After the military coup in 1961, the new leaders used social policy to buy themselves legitimacy. That enabled them to rule in two very different ways simultaneously. In their determination to hold on to power they were without mercy, but in the use of power in governance, their strategy was to co-opt and mobilize with a sophistication that is wholly exceptional among authoritarian rulers. It is governance and not power that explains the Korean miracle. Mobilization is a strategy with consequences. South Korea was not only led to economic development but also, inadvertently perhaps, built up as a society rich in public and civil institutions. When authoritarianism collapsed under the force of nationwide uprisings in 1987, the institutions of a reasonably pluralistic social and political order were there, alive and well, and democracy could take over without further serious drama. This book is about many things: development and modernization, dictatorship and democracy, state capacity and governance, social protection and welfare states, and Korean history. But finally it is about lifting social policy analysis out of the ghetto of self-sufficiency it is often confined to and into the center ground of hard political science. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/socialwork/9780199734351/toc.html

Suggested Citation

  • Ringen, Stein & Kwon, Huck-ju & Yi, Ilcheong & Kim, Taekyoon & Lee, Jooha, 2011. "The Korean State and Social Policy: How South Korea Lifted Itself from Poverty and Dictatorship to Affluence and Democracy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199734351.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxp:obooks:9780199734351
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2019. "The political economy of education and skills in South Korea: democratisation, liberalisation and education reform in comparative perspective," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 87607, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2017. "The politics of labor market reform in coordinated welfare capitalism: comparing Sweden, Germany, and South Korea," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68210, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Sang Hun Lim, 2021. "Welfare state and the social economy in compressed development: Self‐sufficiency organizations in South Korea," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(5), pages 267-278, December.
    4. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2017. "Democratization, post-industrialization, and East Asian welfare capitalism: the politics of welfare state reform in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69574, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Anthony P. D'Costa, 2018. "Capitalist maturity and South Korea's post†development conundrum," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 279-297, May.
    6. Hyun Kyoung Kim, 2017. "From a dualized labor market to a dualized welfare state: Employment insecurity and welfare state development in South Korea," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 76-93, March.
    7. Huck-ju Kwon & Eunju Kim, 2014. "Poverty Reduction and Good Governance: Examining the Rationale of the Millennium Development Goals," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(2), pages 353-375, March.
    8. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2019. "Roads and barriers towards social investments: comparing labour market and family policy reforms in Europe and East Asia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103001, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine & Park, Jae Hyoung, 2023. "Skills and training in hierarchical capitalism: the rise and fall of vocational training in South Korea," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115909, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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